Ganagu/Zafarganyk
The Constitutional Kingdom of Zafarganyk, known more commonly by its short name Zafarganyk, is a nation occupying the Stagon Savannah in Ganykdemir. It is named for the great amount of sandweeds (zafara) that populate the area. __TOC__ Geography Most of Zafarganyk occupies the Stagon Savannah, known worldwide as being one of the two true deserts of Ganagu (the other being in Karrarda). The Stagon Savannah, however, is notable for a special breed of reed plant known as the sandweed, or as the locals call it, zafary. This zafary tends to prefer dry areas with little water, due to its tendency to be overwhelmed and drown in excessive amounts thereof. As for ecology, the Savannah once had a vast amount of lions, giraffes, and other savannah wildlife bustling about, often congregating around oases to slake their thirst in the heat. However, due to urban sprawl in recent years, many species have become endangered, forcing laws to conserve their habitats. Even so, people have still been able to enjoy the fragrance and utility of a single sandweed, as they are quite hardy and versatile, often growing between the cracks of the concrete walkways and giving the cities therein a type of rustic charm. Outside the Savannah, the nation is bordered to the southwest by the impressive Xenyndoan Mountains and surrounded elsewhere by the Mastroan and Talabago Oceans. It has two natural canals---(The Canal of Fertility) and (The Canal of Shifting Winds)---and a bay, (The Foothill Bay). Other Geographical Features History First Settlements The Beginnings of a Kingdom The Golden Age Subjugation under the Zomadiri Empire The Feudal Eras Zafarganyk Reformed Exploration, Imperialism, and Enlightenment Karrarda and Mastroa Foreign Troubles The Mastroan Question The War Cultural Revolution Recent Events Society Demographics 85% of the people of Zafarganyk are Zafarnamany, with 12% being of Race 2, and the other 3% various other races, the majority of which are Race 3. About 43% of all Zafark people are female, and 53% are male; the other 4% are transgendered or androgynous. Fifty percent of the populace is around their late twenties and early thirties (25-33), whereas 30% are between the ages of 13 and 24 Ganagu years, 10% are children (under 13), 7% are in their late thirties through their early fifties (34-56), and the rest are late semi-centenarians, sextenarians or older (57+). 93% of all Zafark people are humans; of the remaining 7% that are sapient creatures, half are wild cats, 1/3 are derived from wild dogs, and the remaining sixth are other sapient creatures, like vampires (bat people), merfolk, and the like. Classes As Zafarganyk is a freedom-loving nation as a whole, there is no official class system, other than that established by the presence of the government, which even then is vague at best. However, that does not prevent the society itself from establishing its own set of classes, albeit ones which are severely interwoven. The classes that are established are thus: *Civilians (ordinary citizens who do not fit into any of the following categories) *Merchants *Professional Mages (includes the Multimages, and others whose work involves intimate knowledge and application of magick in real-life situations) *Armed Forces *Government/Civil Service (considered separate from Armed Forces as they are responsible for managing the own society, as opposed to others. This means that this class includes the police and town watch.) *Foreigners (incl. tourists, diplomats, and the like) Government The government is a constitutional monarchy, and so consists of two parts: * The Monarchy, and * The Parliament. Monarchy The monarchy has been a part of the Zafarganyk government since the beginning, but until recently had been the only player in determining what is and cannot be. Before the reforms of 871 (After St. ) the royal family had dominion over the forty-to-sixty-something duchies (now fifty states), which themselves had dominion over the affairs of people, economy, and other such matters. Each duke or duchess gave their vassals a fixed sum of money, land, and servants to carry out his duties, in return for service to his superior. Each vassal could also do the same to facilitate their ends, meaning the system could stretch as far as needed for the duchy to prosper. One could easily work their way up the feudal pantheon through hard work and dedication, eventually being named as the successor to their lord upon his death. This applied to every position except that of the monarch, where blood ties were required to be considered a legitimate heir to the throne. The following list is of titles that could be achieved through the aforementioned prudence, in order of increasing power: *Master/Mistress (of the craft) - Can hire other people to work for them, and teach them their craft, as well as form guilds between other masters. Are expected to be at the forefront of their trade, for when the circumstances call for it. *Knight/Dame - Can participate in wars and act as police to their lord's realm. Are expected to be honorable and courageous, and protect and serve their lord. *Baron(ess) - Can form armies of knights when needed. Are expected to have good judgment and impeccable foresight. *Viscount(ess) - Can call for barons in matters regarding the welfare of the Zafark citizens. Are expected to have a keen mind for the well-being of the state, and assist their lord. *Earl/Countess - Can call viscounts for assistance in feudal matters. Are expected to be practical and yet innovative. *Marquis/Marchioness - Can act as judges for their vassals and servants in legal matters. Are expected to have impressive acumen, and turn to their lords for dire cases. *Duke/Duchess - The administrators of the duchies. Can create duchy-specific laws, receive feedback on current affairs, and settle cases beyond the jurisdiction of the marquis. They can also set the tithes for their vassals and servants, depending upon the productivity of the duchy, among other conditions. Are expected to give the collected tithes to the monarch, as well as acknowledge changes in the duchy partitioning. Those whose duchies are lost/merged to more influential duchies are to become full-time servants to the royal family, their vassals and servants given to another duke (the more influential one if merged), whereas newly-created duchies will be ruled by a scrupulous marquis nominated by the duke of another duchy and approved by the king. The Monarch's Roles The King/Queen him/herself also had the following roles to fulfill in his kingdom: *Duchy Master - Administrated the various duchies of Zafarganyk, and held council with the dukes every 5 years to discuss matters at hand. Nowadays, that role is called the Chief of Staff. *Warlord - Administrated the armed forces. Now Commander in Chief. *The "Face" - The chief person of interest, usually for favorable intents, he made sure people were happy and healthy in his kingdom. Now renamed Head of State, which he still is to this day. *Master Guest - Visited other countires (in the feudal days, Ri Medurimadi, though other countries came later.) for matters of foreign relations. Now assigned to Chief Diplomat. *Grand Law - Created the Laws that would govern the entirety of Zafarganyk, rather than those for individual duchies. Also ratified duchy-specific laws that he approved of. Now this role is for the Chief Legislator. In addition, the monarch had a Vizier to inform him of the state of the kingdom when he could not perform his duties as the "Face", assist in his duties, and relay the king's information to his subjects. That role is now reserved to the Prime Minister, who heads the Parliament. Parliament The Parliament, established in 763 (After St. ) by the late King ___ by public recommendation, is divided into two houses, the Lords' House and the Senate, with 50 representatives in each house. Each Lord and Senator comes from a different state in Zafarganyk. The Lords usually meet in one area of Parliament to discuss matters of state policy and military, whereas the Senators meet in another area to discuss the welfare and health of the nation. Every two years they come together to discuss the state of the nation, with the Prime Minister acting as the head of Parliament. The purpose of the Chief Legislator is to notify the Parliament of new Law Proposals sent in by the people (including royalty), so that they may discuss the positive and negative aspects of the law before deciding what to do with it. To become a Senator, one must be: *At least 31 years old; *A natural-born citizen of Zafarganyk or its territories; *And a graduate with a Social Science major, such as law or sociology. The same requirements befall a Lord, only now he must also be in the bloodline of a ranked person ranging from Knight to Duke. Family The average immediate family in Zafarganyk consists of one father, one mother, and roughly three children. One in five families have at least one pet. Ninety percent of all families are mono-species, and almost all of the rest are dual-species. It is relatively unheard of for there to be a poly-species family that does not consist of adopted children, but there are some living in Zafarganyk. Eighty percent of couples are heterosexual, with 20% being homosexual. Ninety-four percent are able (and willing) to produce children, and the rest are asexual (not desiring, or capable of producing, children). The average marriage age of men is 20 years, with the bare minimum being 13. For women, the average is 17 years, and the minimum also 13. According to a survey conducted by the Family Institute of Zafarganyk, one out of seven couples consummate their relationship within weeks of marriage, and one out of 20 do so beforehand. Education Children begin their education at the age of three (five in Earth terms) in early grade school, starting with the obligatory kindergarten class. There, they learn basic shapes and colors, as well as the Zafarkh alphabet and counting numbers. Every half-year after those who are not mentally handicapped may move on to regular grade school, while the others are given private tutoring and/or slated for alternative grade school. When a child passes the fifth grade exams, they graduate to late grade school, where more advanced subjects await. Late grade school ranges from sixth to eleventh grades, and like early grade school is divided into regular and alternative. However, the subject matter is more intensive, and there is now a chance of failing a grade (and thus having to repeat it). Here, students learn to apply the knowledge they gained to more practical subjects like history and chemistry. Those who pass the eleventh grade exams will transition to pre-college, unless they pass in the 95th percentile or higher three times consecutively, for which they may either skip ahead to college (with only an essentials course for independent life in between) or end their student career and enter the military. For alternative grade schoolers, however, they will always go to pre-college after late grade school, regardless of whether they too demonstrate the academic aptitude mentioned previously. For those who go to pre-college for three years, they will be taught the essentials of independent living, career skills and financial management, among other things necessary for post-education life. Military life also teaches these things, but includes education concerning honor and leadership, and a greater emphasis on physical activity. When a student passes pre-college to go into college itself, they will need to apply the skills they acquired to live on campus, where they have little to no contact with their parents or other family members who don't already attend college. There, they will pick up far more advanced skills for their future careers, and be able to experience life in a residential environment. After graduating from college for a specific degree, they may either start pursuing jobs whose requirements include their degree, return to college at any time to pursue a higher version of the same degree or a different one entirely, or become a member of the government (although most eschew the latter due to the intensity and relative unpopularity of the jobs offered therein). Grading Scales A student's academic aptitude is judged by two scales, the Percentile and Absolute Grading Scales. The Percentile Scale works by estimating the percentile that the grade falls in (that is, the value below which a certain percentage of students did worse). Generally, a score that does not meet p_{50} or higher means failure ( p_{66} in college). Due to the flexible value of this scale, it is only used in professional college exams and scholarship programs. The Absolute Scale, however, is based on a ratio of the credits that the student received versus the total amount of credits given. Like the Percentile scale, below 50% is an automatic failure (66% in college), but is very rigidly defined otherwise. This makes this scale a favored version for standard educational institutions. The full range for both is as follows: (*) For ease of calculation, p_{100} and p_{99} are treated the same. Law Economy Culture and Customs Language Almost all people in Zafarganyk are fluent or at least conversationally capable in the Zafarkh language, the only notable exception being tourists from abroad. In addition, over half of those people are also fluent in the Meduri language, with a select few being polyglots. If there is one thing to be said about the prevalence of Meduri, then it is mostly due to Meduri influence during the old ages. The two languages are related by way of Proto-Ganykdymyrkh. Religion Two-thirds of all Zafark people belong to at least one modern sect of the Old Order, an ancient belief system revolving around a pantheon of twelve deities and lesser holy figures. Each deity is based off one of the twelve elements, and has associated duties in the realm of human affairs. E.g. The goddess of Nature, Akaby, is also well-versed in Health and Well-Being. Each deity also has three or four saints, who have their own sect, complete with churches, nuns, priests, etc. Nowadays, most of those following the Old Order pay homage to St. , the first saint of the God of Light Dun. Due to the impressive amount of religious tolerance in Zafarganyk, people who follow other religions have formed communities within the country. The Arts Zafarganyk, especially the major cities like (City 1), (City 2), and (City 3) enjoy a vast artistic culture, mostly due to their willingness to perceive nearly anything that is of visual interest as worthy of art. The Sciences Sports/Recreation Magick Zafarganyk, due to its religion, allows the usage of magick in open society, except where it may cause harm to at least one individual, the wielder thereof included. Common practices involving magick include, to name a few: *Ceremonial Festivals *Church Rites *Self-Improvement (For more information, see Magick.) Foreign Relations Ri Medurimadi It has often been said that Ri Medurimadi is Zafarganyk's "elder sister country", owing to the fact that even though it does depend on the latter's spice and oil trade, it does not necessarily approve of the use of magick and the relative lack of castes. Furthermore, it tends to have a stricter view of Zafark tourists, meaning that several who visit Medurinati (as the Zafary call it) have a habit of traveling lightly, keeping magickal practices private, and not making off with illegal possessions, lest the law apprehend them there. Still, the relationship between the two still lives healthily, due to the aforementioned trade, and the fact that there are several famed Zafark people well known through the world, some especially so in Ri Medurimadi. Þrimsdàr Covlocovsc Karrarda Talabaga Mastroa ---- Category:Ganagu Category:Regions